Welcome At the Herm

Thou of the Herm, I call you
Thou between all things, I call you
Thou the living form of Intelligence,
Lord of the Threshold
Lord of the Roadmark
Lord of the Hardnesses of the World
Hermes, I invoke You!

Like many who work magick, early on I discovered Tahuti, the ibis-headed Scribe God of the ancient Egyptians. Access to the Deva Loca, the Realm of the Gods, for me was almost reflexive due to my Pentecostal experience. He lead me though much of the first decade of my study, exposing me to fundamental magickal and illuminative experiences, including a full-blown theophany. He helped me with my hieroglyphic studies at University of Chicago, gave me insights into Egyptian religious culture, and generally guided my way.

But while I was in seminary He ‘told’ me one day that He was too austere for the people I was preparing myself to serve. So, He introduced me to Hermes.

Ever since then in the early 90s Hermes has been my patron of art, teaching and guiding me. I’ve not had much fortune with teachers. Most humans have something to teach me, in fact I have never found anyone who does not, but none have taken me on as a student. That intensive relationship has not manifested in my life. But Hermes took me in hand and in the way that only a Deity can He has slowly helped me to see and understand my experience. I bow in homage to my Teacher.

As our community is maturing and we are rebuilding the Via Deorum, the Way of the Gods, reestablishing the cults and priesthoods of the Old Gods, individuals will have to take on the task, or better, the duty of creating and maintaining those ways. Shortly after being introduced to Hermes, I discovered in Karl Kerenyi’s book Hermes, Guide of Souls, that He was traditionally made offerings at the Dark of the Moon. So, on the mantlepiece of our tiny married student housing apartment I set up a stone and put out some fig newtons for Him. That was at the Dark Moon in January 1992. Ever since, and to the best of my knowledge without fail, I have been performing this rite, or rather the rite this practice evolved into..

My spiritual life has been fortunate. Raised in a highly observant Catholic family, I had a solid inculcation in ritual sensibility. Even as a child I knew I had a calling to the priesthood. As it turned out, just not the Christian one. My brother gave me a copy of Ram Dass’ Be Here Now at age 12, beginning my long practice of inner yoga. He also brought home the Pentecostal infection. This was a critical part of my development. Ecstatic worship, shaped by Catholic ritual and dogma, authorized by Church and parents, it showed me the power and Divine presence that came when a community could invoke intensively. Weekly prayer meetings and the Life in the Spirit Seminar led to Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the manifestation of some of the gifts of the Spirit outlined in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. Besides some interesting energy work amongst the Pentecostals, the more important phenomenon that shaped my spiritual growth was the profound and overwhelming experience of possession.

It came in a rather classic manner. In a prayer meeting when I’m about 16 years old, during praise and after long rounds of song and prayer, then heat, light, and fantastic pressure enveloped my body, I could feel it entering me though the back of my neck. Words, “I love you, My children, I love you,” were forced from my lips. It was Yahweh, and not the last time He made me speak. At many meetings thereafter He would come upon me, words would pour out of my mouth, and I had only the recollection that I had spoken. It was well received by the leaders and other authorities present, including my parents, but over time, I think it wore on me. I began having dissociative experiences and certain inner conflicts brewed in the depths of my psyche. Eventually I didn’t want to be at the meetings. I felt alienated from the others there. My parents had become strangers, like pod people had taken away the harsh but rational people and had left these religiously obsessed manikins.

Later I would come to understand that Yahweh had dragged my soul into the Deva Loca in order to use my body as a mouthpiece. Unfortunately for Him, I already knew of other Gods. My paternal Grandmother had insisted all the children were to read about the Classical Gods of Greece and Rome. Be Here Now had a two page spread of Kali that my opened mind recognized as an expression of Divinity at least as true and holy as Jesus on the Cross. Later I recovered the memory, at best an approximation, where I had been dragged into a column of light in a space of infinite dark punctuated by many other columns of light. This column was Yahweh’s and while He was using my body I had a chance to look around. Since I was not entirely enthralled by Him, I saw the other Gods in Their columns of light. I think they also saw me.

Once I had liberated myself from my family and the Christian religion, at first by the simple expedient of going to college, I found my way home to Paganism, and thereafter the Gods found me. As mentioned above, eventually I was introduced to Hermes, and since then I have been in His service, and have served our community in His name.

The purpose of this blog is to express, explore, and reflect upon a long term relationship with a Deity as a example and a critical examination of how we can intensively relate to the Gods today. Some of that will be to express the values and viewpoints that working with Hermes inspires. I will endeavor to develop generalizations about the process and experience in order that they may be useful to others, while recognizing that my experiences and point of view are just that, my own. I have no power, nor desire the power, to force anyone to my perspective, while I am no less willing to argue for it. My hope with this blog is to be able to add to our community’s understanding of the Gods and how we can work with Them to develop our religion, our community, and our world. At least one a month, on Wednesdays, I will post to this channel. You are invited on the journey…